Heights
by DisneyStar4Ever
Summary: When Benson takes the employees to the fair, he goes on the ferris wheel. But unknown to anyone else, he's deathly afraid of heights. Thankfully, Mordecai's right there beside him. Mordecai/Benson oneshot friendship.


**Heights**

"Alright." Benson said. He was standing in front of the employees with the clipboard in his hands, ready to read out the jobs. "We've got a lot to do today, so lets get started-"

"Mordecai, dude, did you hear about the fair opening downtown?"

"No, what fair?"

Benson scowled and looked up at the two as Rigby thrust a green flyer into Mordecai's hands.

"It's really popular around the world and it only opens twice a year. That's how good it is. It's got pocorn, candy floss and the best rides there are-"

"Ah hem." Benson said loudly, bringing the attention to him again. Rigby and Mordecai looked at him at the same time, Mordecai with a slight guilty look on his face.

"Sorry, Benson." They said in unison.

Benson looked at them for a few more seconds, then looked back at the clipboard. "As I was saying, we-"

"Hey, Benson?"

Benson frowned. He dragged his eyes up to rest on the raccoon, Rigby's hand raised in the air.

"Yes, Rigby?" Benson said, anger fuelling in his body.

"Can we go to the fair after work?"

Benson faceplamed. He sighed heavily, then let his hand fall to his side as he looked back up at his employee.

"Absolutely not. We have too much work to do and besides, even if we did get it done, we still wouldn't be able to go because it would be too late."

"Aw come on! It only comes around twice every year! Anyway, we've been working so hard all week! We deserve a break!"

Benson opened his mouth to argue, but then Mordecai piped up.

"No offence Benson, but Rigby does have a point. We need a break from working this week. And not like that lousy outing we had last year."

Benson cringed at the memory. After rethinking it from Mordecai's words, he nodded, emitting excited chat from the employees.

"Alright." Benson said. The talk died down. "We'll go to the fair after work, but first, I need everyone to finish all their chores." He eyed the duo when he said this and they nodded happily. When Benson looked away, they high fived.

* * *

Thanks from a little encouragement by Mordecai, Rigby managed to get his chores done, then they were off to the fair.

* * *

The smell of buttery popcorn hit Benson as soon as he walked through the gates. The sun had set hours ago, leaving a silver crescent moon to hang in the sky, the rays shining down on the park employees as they entered the carnival. One by one, each of the workers went off in different directions to whichever ride they chose to go on. Benson stayed still, taking in the loud chatter, the many crowds of people, the food, the rides, the everything. It overwhelmed him for a few minutes and he waited for everyone to have left till he walked in a random direction, not really focusing on a particular ride.

After a few minutes of wandering around, he spotted a giant ferris wheel planted on the side of the grass. Many people were already in their seats, waiting for it to start as they chattered to each other. Benson saw a tall man with a greasy ponytail standing next to a metal box and frowned at his appearance. He sighed and looked up at the ferris wheel. It was pretty high. And he was deathly afraid of heights. But he wanted to conquer this fear. So with his hands clenched into fists, he walked up to a free seat and sat down, willing his heart to slow as he settled into the seat.

He looked to his side when he felt someone sit next to him, only to see Mordecai there, holding on the bar in front of them.

"Mordecai? What are you doing here?" Benson asked, slightly surprised.

Mordecai looked at him, smiling. "Rigby went off to go flirt with the chick who runs the ring toss game, so I just came here."

"Oh." Benson said. He jumped when he felt his seat move. Looking over to the side, he saw the greasy-ponytail man had pressed the start button and was leaning against a pole, smoking a cigarette. His eyes widened when he realized they were slowly going up and he gripped the bar tighter. Mordecai glanced over and, seeing Bensons panicked expression, moved over slighlty, shifting himself closer to Benson.

"Just relax. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Mordecai's words dropped in his stomach. Nothing to be afraid of? Benson felt the need to differ against the blue jays words but one more glance beneath them made him shut his mouth. He closed his eyes.

"Ok." He muttered. "Nothing to be afraid of. I'm safe up here." As soon as he opened his eyes, he almost shrieked at how high they were and grabbed onto Mordecai, who looked at him weirdly at the contact. When he realized what he was doing, he moved back, letting go of his employee. "S-sorry, Mordecai."

Mordecai raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. He looked out at the view.

Benson settled back in his seat and shut his eyes once more, ignoring the blood pounding in his ears from his racing heart. Despite his eyes being closed, he could easily tell they were still going up, away from the ground and his grip on the bar tightened slighlty.

The sudden jerk of the ferris wheel made Bensons eyes snap open and with a horrid feeling, he realized they had stopped at the very top

"Damn machine." He heard someone say. He looked down to the side and saw the ponytailed man toying with a few buttons on the machine. Soon, smoke starting emitting from it and hovered in the air till it disappeared from the wind. The man cursed under his breath then punched the machine. He sighed, turned and stormed off, murmering about getting the manager before he got fired.

When he looked back up in front of him, his breath caught in his lungs when he saw the view. It was like the city stretched on for miles. Lights dotted the buildings, small silhouettes of people packing up for the night.

(I do not know how to describe a city obviously :P) The sight made Bensons arms and legs turn to jelly. He shut his eyes again, but the occasional breeze reminded him of how high they were, and now that they were temporarily stuck, he felt more scared than before. Mordecai glanced over and when he saw Bensons eyes shut, the gumball machines arms and legs shaking uncontrollably, he kept his eyes on him, watching him.

Benson hated it up here. He needed a sweater, the cold was starting to get him and he suddenly shivered. Letting go of the bar, he wrapped his arms around himself.

"Benson?"

Benson looked at the blue jay next to him to see Mordecai with a concerned expression on his face. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just a little bit cold..."

Mordecai took off his jacket and gave it to his boss. "Here. Take my jacket. You need it more than I do."

Benson took it, a slight blush heating his cheeks. "T-thanks Mordecai." He said as he put it on. He zips it up to the top then places his hands back on the bar. Looking out at the view, his stomach does a flip and he's instantly reminded of his fear, the jacket having distracted him for a second. Again, he closes his eyes and again, his limbs go weak.

Mordecai, who was looking down at the crowds, trying to spot Rigby, sees from his field of vision, Benson, who is completely still, but he sees him shaking and he turns his head.

"Benson?"

The gumball machine's eyes snapped open.

"What's wrong?"

A short silence followed as Benson continued to look out in front of him, repeating to himself that he's safe. But it doesn't work. He loosened his grip on the bar and tore his gaze to Mordecai, who's already looking at him.

"I-" He couldn't look at him. "I'm scared of heights." He mumbled out, looking off to the side.

Mordecai didn't laugh. He almost felt sorry for him. What was the point of going on a ferris wheel if you couldn't enjoy the scenery because you were afraid of heights?

"Then why did you decide to go on a ferris wheel?"

Benson stayed silent for a couple of seconds. "I thought I could conquer my fear."

Mordecai smiled. "Well, I can help you conquer your fear if you want."

Benson finally lifted his head, a smirk on his face. "How could you help me?"

Shifting closer, Mordecai rolled his eyes. "Do you want my help?"

He hesitated. Did he? "Sure. But don't laugh if I get scared ok?"

Mordecai nodded. "Ok, first, look up in front of you."

Benson did so, but quickly shut his eyes.

"Open your eyes, Benson."

He shook his head. No. Mordecai shook his head. "Do you want to get over your fear?"

Although his stomach was doing somersaults, Benson nodded. "Of course."

"Then open your eyes."

Benson slowly forced his eyes open. His heart was hammering in his chest as he looked out at the view, then he jerked his head away, closing his eyes again. "No. I can't do it."

Mordecai stayed patient. "Why are you afraid of heights Benson?" He asked.

Benson, not looking at him, started to speak. "I'm worried that I'm gonna fall and kill myself. It's just...too high for me to take."

Now the sympathy began to set in Mordecai. "You're not gonna fall, ok? You're perfectly safe up here."

Benson opened his eyes and looked at the blue jay, worry etched in his features. "But what if I do fall-"

"You're not gonna fall." Mordecai said firmly, but gently. He smiled and took Bensons arm. "I'll catch you."

Benson suddenly felt safe, protected. With someone here, he didn't feel as scared as before and now that Mordecai had reassured him, he wanted to get this over and done with. Turning his head, he forced himself to look out in front of him.

"Wow." He breathed.

Mordecai smiled and after leaving Benson to take it in for a few minutes, spoke. "You ok?"

"Yeah." Benson almost laughed at the absurdity of his fear. "I'm fine."

They started laughing till they were interrupted with fireworks going off in the distance. Mordecai saw and his laughter died down. "Hey, fireworks."

"What? You've never seen fireworks before?"

Mordecai punched Benson playfully. "Shut up." He said, but he was smiling. Benson laughed. "Ok, ok, sorry."

They sat in silence, Mordecai's hand on his arm. Once Benson noticed, he blushed again. Mordecai, seeing the red on his boss' face, looked at him in confusion, till he saw his hand on his arm. He jerked it back as if he had just touched something hot.

"Hehe, sorry Benson."

"It's ok."

The two avoided each others gaze. Another firework went off, making them look out again.

Then, without a word, slowly, Mordecai raised an arm and wrapped it around Bensons waist, pulling him close. Bensons blush intensified, but he didn't pull away. He watched the fireworks then looked down to see the ponytailed man coming back, a tool box in his hand.

He didn't want to get down, as weird as that sounded. After getting over his fear, he felt happy and right now, he just wanted to stay up here, with Mordecai's arm around him. He leant his head against Mordecai's shoulder, just as the ferris wheel started to move down. Because they were at the top, it took a while for them to get down.

Mordecai moved away slightly when they were halfway. Benson, confused, looked out and when he saw Rigby standing there, waiting for Mordecai, he understood and took his head off the blue jays shoulder, just as Mordecai unwrapped his arm from his waist. They lifted the bar and jumped out when they hit ground.

"Dude, you were so high up. Did you see the fireworks?" Rigby asked, a grin on his face, an ice cream in his hand.

Mordecai nodded. "Yip. How'd you go with that girl?"

"Well, I was going to ask her out, then a guy came up behind her and kissed her."

"So not that good?"

Rigby shook his head. "Nah. She was out of my league anyway."

Mordecai smirked. "I bet she was."

Rigby was too preoccupied with his ice cream to noticed the sarcasm in his friends voice.

He smiled again but when he noticed Benson wearing the blue jays jacket, his eyebrows furrowed, confused, the smile faltering. "Dude, why are you wearing Mordecai's jacket?"

Benson blushed again and went to unzip it, till he felt a hand on his. "No, it's ok. It's pretty cold." Mordecai said, smiling slightly.

The hint of a smile grew on Bensons lips and he zipped it back up. Rigby looked at him, then shrugged, brushing it off.

"Where are the others?" Benson asked, the red beginning to fade.

"They're around."

The gumball machine rolled his eyes at his employees half baked answer. "Ok. Lets go look for them. Rigby, you go round up Muscle Man, Fives and Thomas."

Rigby nodded then bounded off, binning the ice cream on the way. Mordecai shook his head then him and Benson started to walk.

They took in the mindless chatter around them, then Mordecai spoke. "You officially over your fear?"

Bensons shrugged. "Yeah, I think so." He shoved his hands in the pockets. "I'm just not sure if I'm "officially" over it though."

"What'd you mean?'

"It's just...I can't help thinking that...what if I fall and no one's there. Like, what if I fall off the roof and no one's standing below and I die?"

"Don't worry, dude. No matter what, I'll be there to catch you."

Benson smiled but the smile instantly vanished when his foot caught on an empty soda cup and he tripped. His heart stopped. Out of instinct, he put his hands out in front of him...

Mordecai reached out and caught Benson by the shoulders. Lifting him up, he waited for Benson to stand upright then looked at him, a coy smile on his lips. "Told you."

It took a second for Mordecai's words to register in the gumball machines mind and when they did, he smiled and rolled his eyes. "Come on. Lets go find the others." He walked ahead, the blue jays hands slipping off his shoulders.

Mordecai laughed as he ran to catch up. "What? Still not over your fear?"


End file.
